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Channel Islands National Park: Anacapa and Santa Cruz Islands

Program Number: 14758RJ
Start and End Dates:
3/10/2013 - 3/15/2013; 6/9/2013 - 6/14/2013;
Duration: 5 nights
Location: Ventura, California
Price starting at: $835.00 - Price may vary based on date, departure city
Program Type: National Parks
Meals: 14; 5 Breakfasts, 4 Lunches, 5 Dinners    
Meal Options: Vegetarian    

Relatively untouched by modern culture, California’s Channel Islands National Park is an oasis of natural splendor, earning the nickname “America’s Galapagos.” Travel by boat and experience two of the five islands that comprise the park — Anacapa, with its steep sea cliffs and lighthouse, and Santa Cruz, the most diverse. Get up close to the rich array of plant life, sea birds, fish and marine mammals — some found nowhere else in the world.




Highlights

• Expert naturalists lead expeditions to two of the islands of Channel Islands National Park.
• Discover how the islands’ isolation has created a unique ecosystem.
• Trace the human history from the Chumash Indians, to explorers, fur traders, ranchers and scientists.



Activity Particulars

Walking up to two miles on uneven terrain. Climbing ladder from boat to dock or pier; climbing 157 stairs to island plateau. Boat trip one hour each way.



Travel to the islands may be hampered by weather conditions, in which cas an alternate activity will be arranged.




Date Specific Information

3-10-2013

In late winter, there is a chance to see Pacific Gray whales as they migrate through the Santa Barbara Channel and native plants in bloom but the intensity and duration of the bloom varies each year due to rain and temperature.



6-9-2013

In spring, Anacapa Island comes alive with western gull chicks and Santa Cruz Island is alive with wildflowers in bloom. There is a slight chance to see blue or humpback whales in the deep water during travels to and from the Island.



Coordinated by Road Scholar.




Ventura

A classic California beach community with surfers, art galleries, white-sand beaches and warm breezes, Ventura is situated between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara near the region's museums, historic missions and coastal wonders.
Accommodations
Beachfront property, with balcony rooms and ocean views, steps away from the historic downtown and pier.

Road Scholar Instructors
These instructors are participating on at least one date of this program. Please note that changes may occur.
Robert Lopez
Bob Lopez is a fifth-generation resident of Ventura County and Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at Moorpark College. While in college, Bob became interested in the history and archaeology of the Mission Period. This spurred his interest in the native peoples of the area: who they were, how they had adapted to the environment and what had happened to them. Now retired from teaching, Bob stays active in local archaeology through Road Scholar programs and the Ventura County Archaeological Society.
 
Richard Senate
Richard Senate is a Los Angeles native who grew up in the Conejo Valley of Ventura County. A longtime City of Ventura historian, Richard’s life took a turn in 1978 when, as part of a team of archaeologists working at a historic mission on the Central Coast, he encountered a ghostly monk. This profound experience led him to the study of psychic phenomena. Richard has since visited nearly 250 haunted sites and his investigations include studios, theaters and mansions in and around Los Angeles.
 
Margery Spielman
Margery Spielman is an internationally recognized environmental and marine artist, lecturer, naturalist and professional diver. An oceanography and scuba instructor, she is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild and has worked underwater on numerous films. Her freelance assignments for the Cousteau Society have included research logistics, diving, speaking and illustrating. Described as a visionary realist, she exhibits her watercolor paintings in major marine art expos from Hawaii to Paris.
 
Jan Timbrook
Dr. Jan Timbrook is an anthropologist and ethnobiologist who specializes in the indigenous Chumash people of the Santa Barbara region, with particular emphasis on their uses of plants in food, medicine, and basketry. Jan serves as the Curator of Ethnography at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History where she has worked for over 30 years. She is the author of “Chumash Ethnobotany: Plant Knowledge Among the Chumash People of Southern California.”
 
Patricia Meyer
Patricia Meyer is president of the Channel Islands Park Foundation and director of the Friends of the Island Fox, a program of the Channel Islands Park Foundation. She was born and educated in England, immigrated to Canada, and then to the United States, settling in Los Angeles where she completed her MBA through the University of Redlands, California. Following an early career in advertising and marketing, Pat spent the remainder of her career as a vice president for a nationwide property-casualty insurance company. She has been a docent at the Los Angeles Zoo since 1994, where she also served for five years as editor of the docent newsletter, “All Creatures.” Pat lectures in the provisional docent’s zoological course, and is a member of the Lecture Advisory Committee. In 2004, she founded Friends of the Island Fox, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving this endangered species at Channel Islands National Park.
 
Meals and Lodgings
   Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach
  Ventura, California 5 nights
 Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach
Type: Full Service Hotel
  Description: Delight in the year-round sunshine of Ventura, California with its miles of clean, uncrowded beaches, spectacular mountainous back country, and the magnificent Channel Islands National Park on the horizon. At the center of it all, right at the water's edge, stands the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach Hotel. All of its guest rooms feature magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean and the mountainous curves of the California coastline. It is ideally situated within walking distance of historic downtown Ventura where you will find the San Buenaventura Mission, museums, antique stores, a wide variety of restaurants, bookstores, cafes, clothing shops, and art galleries.
  Contact info: 450 E. Harbor Blvd.
Ventura, CA 93001 USA
phone: 805-648-2100
web: www.cpventura.com
  Room amenities: All rooms are equipped with Crowne Plaza "Sleep Advantage" bedding; coffee maker; iron/board; hair dryer; high-speed Internet access; 27" TVs; ocean-view balconies; in-room movies. All rooms are non-smoking.
  Facility amenities: The ocean-front Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach is a 12-story tower with balcony rooms, all with ocean views. There's a great walking path next to the hotel which stretches for miles up and down the coast. Guests enjoy a host of amenities including convenient parking; free high-speed wireless Internet; restaurants with outdoor patio dining; lobby lounge with ocean-front patio seating; room service; heated ocean-front swimming pool; exercise room; and laundry & dry cleaning with same-day service as well as a coin-op laundry. Wi-Fi Access: Road Scholar participants receive complimentary Wi-Fi Internet access as part of their package. The coverage includes all hotel guest rooms and public areas. Although there is no charge for this service, a password is required. This may be obtained from the front desk staff.
  Smoking allowed: No
  Elevators available: Yes
  Additional nights prior: Based upon availability Call Laura Moran at the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach Hotel at (805) 652-5142 to make a reservation for additional nights before or after the program and to inquire about rates.
  Check in time: 4:00 PM
  Additional nights after: Based upon availability Call Laura Moran at the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach Hotel at (805) 652-5142 to make a reservation for additional nights before or after the program and to inquire about rates.
  Check out time: 12:00 PM


Travel Details
  Start of Program:
Program registration is in the hotel lobby from 3:30-5:00 PM. You will be staying at Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach that night.
  End of Program:
Please make your travel arrangements so that you can join us for our final class which will end at approximately 10:00 AM. You will be staying at Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach the night before.
  Required documents:
The Road Scholar Health & Safety Form is required. On the enclosed Participant Information Form, please indicate to us the name of your roommate/traveling companion. Also let us know if you are traveling with other individuals and wish to be assigned a room near them. Photo ID
  Parking availability:
Complimentary parking is available in the lot adjacent to the hotel, but the parking pass needs to be validated by the front desk.
Transportation
To Start of Program
  Location:  Ventura, California
  Nearest city or town:  Santa Barbara
  Nearest highway: Highway 101 passes through Ventura
  Nearest airport:  Los Angeles International Airport
  From End of Program
  Location: Ventura, California
    (Additional transportation information same as above)
Travel Details
 

Los Angeles/LAX to Ventura

 

From Airport

 
 

Service:

 

Commercial Van/Shuttle
SuperShuttle
phone: 800-258-3826
Advanced Reservations Required

 

Per Person/One Way:

 

$71 for 1st person one-way; $9 each additional passenger; or $40 each
Prices are subject to change.
 

Travel Time:

 

1 hr 20 min, depending on traffic 
 

Distance:

 

71 miles from LAX to Crowne Plaza Ventura Hotel
   

Call for current rates and to arrange pickup time. Advance reservations are required. Price is estimated and subject to change. Website: www.supershuttle.com for online reservations and exact fares. On Arrival at LAX: Claim your luggage, proceed outside and look for the shared ride van sign on the inside curb just outside of baggage claim. SuperShuttle's Guest Service rep, dressed in a blue SuperShuttle uniform will assist you.
 

Ventura/ Amtrak Station

 

From Train Station

 
 

Service:

 

Taxi
Yellow Cab
phone: 805-659-6900

 

Per Person/One Way:

 

Minimum fare of $10 per ride one-way will be charged
Prices are subject to change.
 

Travel Time:

 

Under 2 minutes 
 

Distance:

 

Amtrak Station is .2 miles from hotel
   

Amtrak (1-800-872-7245) provides transportation service to Ventura via the Pacific Surfliner route. The covered Amtrak platform is located outside Seaside Park (Ventura County Fairgrounds) at 20 W. Harbor Blvd. near Figueroa St. You may walk 4 blocks from the station to the hotel, or call a taxi. Amtrak website: www.amtrak.com
 

Los Angeles (LAX) to Ventura

 

From Airport

 
 

Service:

 

Commercial Van/Shuttle
Ventura Co. Airporter Shuttle
phone: 805-650-6600
Advanced Reservations Required

 

Per Person/One Way:

 

$35 P/P to drop-off point in Ventura; then taxi to Crowne Plaza @ $15
Prices are subject to change.
 

Travel Time:

 

1 hr 15 min to drop-off point + taxi ride (additional 20-25 min for wait time and ride) 
 

Distance:

 

67 miles from LAX to Holiday Inn Express at Ventura Harbor
   

VCA Shuttle offers 8 daily trips to/from LAX and Ventura at a great price p/p. However, it drops off passengers at the Holiday Inn Express at Ventura Harbor, 3.5 miles from Crowne Plaza Hotel. From the drop-off point you need to call a taxi to get a ride to the Crowne Plaza. Call Yellow Taxi Cab at 805-659-6900 at $15 per ride. FOR PICK UP TIMES & CURRENT FARE AS PRICE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. Advance reservations are required. VCA Shuttle website: www.venturashuttle.com
 

Burbank/BUR to Ventura

 

From Airport

 
 

Service:

 

Commercial Van/Shuttle
SuperShuttle
phone: 800-258-3826
Advanced Reservations Required

 

Per Person/One Way:

 

$63 for 1st guest; $9 each additional guest (or $36 each for 2 people)
Prices are subject to change.
 

Travel Time:

 

1 hr 10 min from Burbank Airport to Crowne Plaza Hotel (in normal traffic) 
 

Distance:

 

62 miles from Burbank Airport to Crowne Plaza-Ventura Beach
   

SuperShuttle offers door-to-door shared van service from Burbank to your destination. Call for the current fare as prices are subject to change without notice. Advance reservations are required. For online reservations and exact fares, visit www.supershuttle.com ALTERNATE VAN SERVICE: Prime Time Shuttle. For info and reservations, call 800-733-8267; www.primetimeshuttle.com
 
Driving Directions
  Northbound Highway 101 Going North on Hwy 101, take the California St. exit. Turn left onto California St. at the top of the exit ramp. Turn right onto Harbor Blvd. then left into the hotel parking lot.
  Southbound Highway 101 to Crowne Plaza Ventura Hotel Going South on Hwy 101, take the Ventura Ave. exit. Turn right on Thompson Blvd. and continue for approximately 4 blocks to California St. Turn right on California St. and go over the freeway to Harbor Blvd. The Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach hotel will be directly ahead. Turn right onto Harbor Blvd. then immediately left into the hotel parking lot.
The prices listed for commercial services and facilities that are not included in the program cost, such as airport shuttles or extra nights lodging, are subject to change without notice. Since Road Scholar cannot guarantee the accuracy of these prices, we strongly suggest contacting the companies directly for the most up-to-date information.


Daily Schedule

Day 1: Independent Arrivals/Introductions
(Sunday, March 10)
   
 Afternoon: HOTEL CHECK-IN: Check into Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach Hotel after 4:00PM.

PROGRAM REGISTRATION: After you have your room assignment, come over to the Road Scholar table to register with the program staff and pick up your arrival packet which we'll review during our orientation session before dinner.

ORIENTATION: Begins before dinner. We'll have an overview of the program ahead and review the up-to-date schedule, responsibilities, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, any other administrative issues, and answer your questions. Please be aware that local circumstances may require adjusting program elements. In the event of changes, we will notify you as quickly as possible. We appreciate your understanding.

 Dinner: Dinner at hotel

Menus are contracted for the program and are designed to offer balanced, healthy meals for the participants.

 Evening: CROSSING POINTS: Participants introduce themselves to the rest of the group.

Enjoy the remainder of the evening getting to know your fellow participants and discovering what you share beyond a love of lifelong learning

   
Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach
Meals Included: Dinner

Day 2: Field trip to Channel Islands National Park Visitors Center/Introductory lectures
(Monday, March 11)

Note: Walk 0.38 mi along the harbor from the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center to The Greek Restaurant for lunch.
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel
 Morning: FIELD TRIP: Channel Islands National Park Visitors Center

You will have an opportunity to watch the new video, "A Treasure in the Sea: Channel Islands", talk with park personnel, walk through the native plant garden, and view exhibits which highlight the natural and cultural features of the islands. Enjoy the bookstore and the scenic view from the tower.

After viewing the exhibits, walk .38 mile along the harbor to a restaurant in Harbor Village.

 Lunch: Lunch at restaurant in Harbor Village
 Afternoon: CLASS: Channel Islands National Park

Topics related to the Channel Islands such as cultural history, Native history, marine life, geology, natural history and research are presented during afternoon based upon instructor availability.

 Dinner: Dinner at hotel
 Evening: CLASS: Channel Islands National Park

Topics related to the Channel Islands such as cultural history, Native history, marine life, geology, natural history and research are presented during afternoon based upon instructor availability.
   
Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 3: Boat Trip to Anacapa Island
(Tuesday, March 12)

Note: Travel to Anacapa Island by boat, weather permitting. Boat transportation is provided by the Channel Islands National Park concessionaire, Island Packers. The duration of the boat trip will be approximately 1 hour one-way to Anacapa Island - East End Landing Cove. Upon arrival at Anacapa, be prepared to climb a vertical ladder from the boat to the dock and then 153 steps to the island's plateau. The prorgam includes a guided 1.5 mile nature walk on Anacapa Island.



   
 Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel
 Morning: FIELD TRIP: All day boat trip to Anacapa Island, weather permitting

Twelve miles from the mainland a five-mile-long spine of rock emerges from the ocean, breaks into three islets, and offers itself as home to 265 species of plants and a bevy of seabirds - with the largest brown pelican rookery on the Pacific Coast. On charts the island of 737 acres appears as East, Middle, and West Anapaca. The Chumash called it Anyapakh or "mirage". It was anything but a mirage on the night of December 2, 1853, when the sidewheel steamer Winfield Scottrunning at full speed crashed into rocks off Middle Anacapa and sank. The Coast Guard built a light beacon in 1912 and a light station in 1932.

Guided 1.5 mile nature walk on Anacapa Island

 Lunch: Bag lunch on Anacapa Island
 Afternoon: Anacapa Island (continued)

Boat returns to mainland at approx 4PM

 Dinner: Dinner at hotel
   
Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4: Introductory lectures/Guided walk of Ventura
(Wednesday, March 13)

Note: Guided walk of downtown Ventura involves walking on flat sidewalk for 6 blocks one way.
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel
 Morning: FIELD TRIP: Guided Stroll Through Ventura's History

From Mission San Buenaventura founded in 1782, to the classic 1912 City Hall and birthplace of the Perry Mason novels, Richard Senate describes how Ventura has retained a strong sense of its past, traditions and architecture as you explore downtown Ventura on foot.

 Morning: CLASS: Channel Islands National Park

Topics related to the Channel Islands such as cultural history, Native history, marine life, geology, natural history and research are presented during afternoon based upon instructor availability.

 Lunch: Lunch at hotel
 Afternoon: Free Afternoon to explore Ventura on your own.
 Dinner: Dinner at hotel
 Evening: Theater Sports: Group of improvisational actors
   
Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5: Boat Trip to Santa Cruz Island
(Thursday, March 14)

Note: Travel to Santa Cruz Island by boat, weather permitting. Boat transportation is provided by Island Packers. Duration of boat trip approx 1 hr one-way to Scorpion Anchorage. Small pier at Scorpion Anchorage at which visitors step from the boat onto a ladder and climb a few rungs to pier. Choice of hikes: an easy 1-mile round trip walk into Scorpion Canyon, or a more strenuous 2-mile round trip hike which climbs 300 ft on the first third of the trail to Cavern Point.
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel
 Morning: FIELD TRIP: All day boat trip to Santa Cruz Island, weather permitting

With its pristine beaches and grass covered hills, Santa Cruz is the largest island of the five islands comprising Channel Island National Park, and is a miniature of what Southern California looked like 100 years ago.

On the island, you'll have a choice of 2 hikes: Scorpion Canyon is an easy 1-mile round trip walk with good examples of native and endemic plants. Cavern Point is a 2-mile round trip hike that takes approximately 1 hour 30 min. to hike. The trail climbs 300 ft on the first third of the hike to Cavern Point and then flattens out providing expansive vistas of the Santa Barbara Channel. Guides talk about the isolation of the island, animals, plants, restoration projects, ranch history, and the marine environment at stops along the trail.

 Lunch: Bag lunch on island.
 Afternoon: Santa Cruz Island (continued)

The boat returns to the mainland at approximately 4:30PM.

 Dinner: Dinner at hotel
   
Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 6: Independent Departures
(Friday, March 15)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel
 Morning: CLASS: Channel Islands National Park

Topics related to the Channel Islands such as cultural history, Native history, marine life, geology, natural history and research are presented during afternoon based upon instructor availability.

HOTEL CHECK OUT: This concludes the program. We hope you have enjoyed our Channel Islands National Park adventure and will join us for other rewarding programs in the future. Best wishes for all your journeys!
   
Meals Included: Breakfast

Free Time Opportunities
  
  Ventura, California Mission San Buenaventura
211 E. Main St.

Ventura, CA 93001

(805) 643-4318

Mission San Buenaventura was founded in 1782. It is the ninth of California's 21 missions and the last to be established by Father Serra. Visitors will discover a small museum with mission artifacts such as Chumash basketry, a quiet courtyard, and 250 year-old paintings of the Stations of the Cross. For additional information, visit www.sanbuenaventuramission.org

  Museum of Ventura County
100 E. Main St.

Ventura, CA 93001

(805) 653-0323

One of the museum's permanent exhibits explores the community's past from the Chumash era through the 21st century. It consists of a fascinating collection of artifacts and displays focusing on Native Americans, Spanish and Mexican pioneers, and European and Yankee settlers. Especially notable are the George Stuart Historical figures, which are intricately carved figures from history that are dressed in elaborate period costume. For additional information, visit www.venturamuseum.org

  Ventura Visitors & Convention Bureau
101 S. California St.

Ventura, CA 93001

(805) 648-2075

Ventura offers a variety of recreational opportunities such as beach walks, biking and hiking trails, bird watching, camping, golf, sport fishing, water activities and whale watching. The Crowne Plaza Hotel is situated next to the beach and an oceanside boardwalk that stretches for many miles. Some trail heads are within walking distance of the hotel. For additional information, visit www.ventura-usa.com

Important information about your itinerary: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information featured on this website. Itineraries are based on our best information at this time. Circumstances beyond our control may require us to adjust itineraries or other details. We regret any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding. Information will be sent to you from your Program Provider approximately three weeks prior to the program start date. The prices listed for commercial services and facilities that are not included in the program cost, such as airport shuttles or extra nights lodging, are subject to change without notice. Since Road Scholar cannot guarantee the accuracy of these prices, we strongly suggest contacting the companies directly for the most up-to-date information.

Suggested Reading List


Channel Islands National Park


Author: Susan Lamb (Author) & George H. H. Huey (Photographer)


Description: The five remarkable islands of Channel Islands National Park preserve a part of California many visitors thought had long vanished. This isolated maritime sanctuary of natural and human history is a short boat ride from the urban areas of Southern California. The environment provides a serene habitat for many species of birds, marine mammals, wildlife, and plants - plus archeological sites that mark nearly 13,000 years of human presence.



Diary of a Sea Captain's Wife: Tales of Santa Cruz Island (Hardcover)


Author: Margaret H. Eaton


Description: While there are many science books about the Channel Islands, this book offers a woman's personal memoir of living on Santa Cruz Island in the first half of the 20th century. The book's editor, Dr. Jan Timbrook, lectures in the Road Scholar Channel Islands programs. Used paperback editions of this book are available at www.alibris.com for prices ranging from about $5 to $50 and up as well as at other online booksellers. The paperback edition may also be available for sale at the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center.



A Guide to East Santa Cruz Island: Road, Trails, Routes, Scrambles, Landslides


Author: Don Morris


Description: Don Morris's travel tips and authoritative accounts of the trails and routes available on East Santa Cruz Island, one of five islands preserved in the Channel Islands National Park, enable the hiker to enjoy this remote and beautiful island to the fullest. The legislation which established the CINP in 1980 emphasized the park's outstanding breeding grounds for seals and sea lions, beautiful and productive tide pools and kelp forests, and fabulous habitat for sea birds as well as its thousands of archeological sites, plants and animals that are found nowhere else. Don Morris retired in 2001 from the National Park Service after serving for sixteen years as Park Archeologist at Channel Islands National Park, his final posting in a forty year National Park Service career. While at CINP, he had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the park on foot, by kayak, by plane and helicopter to acquire the knowledge presented in this guidebook.



Day Trip to Santa Cruz Island, California: Scorpion Ranch/East Anchorage


Author: Kirsten Anderberg


Description: A writer using the name “The Saunterer,” wrote about Santa Cruz Island in November 1890 in the L.A.Times: “I wonder that more people do not visit them. They are full of picturesqueness, of wild and solitary grandeur. They have lovely heights that the eagle would love, and green canyons with rippling streams that go singing from their heights to the sea…with innumerable wild flowers along their banks and old oaks standing as sentinels where they pass." Take a day trip to Santa Cruz Island's East Anchorage at Scorpion Harbor with author/historian Kirsten Anderberg. One hundred never before published photographs taken by the author, accompany a journey through the island's history, geology, flora, fauna, caves, sealife and geology. Author Kirsten Anderberg earned her Master's Degree in CA History from CA State University at Northridge in December 2010.



Foundations of Chumash Complexity (Perspectives in California Archaeology)


Author: Jeanne E. Arnold


Description: This volume highlights the latest research on the foundations of sociopolitical complexity in coastal California. The populous maritime societies of southern California, particularly the groups known collectively as the Chumash, have gone largely unrecognised as prototypical complex hunter-gatherers, only recently beginning to emerge from the shadow of their more celebrated counterparts on the Northwest Coast of North America. While Northwest cultures are renowned for such complex institutions as ceremonial potlatches, slavery, cedar plank-house villages, and rich artistic traditions, the Chumash are increasingly recognised as complex hunter-gatherers with a different set of organisational characteristics: ascribed chiefly leadership, a strong maritime economy based on oceangoing canoes, an integrative ceremonial system, and intensive and highly specialised craft production activities. Chumash sites provide some of the most robust data on these subjects available in the Americas. Contributors present stimulating new analyses of household and village organisation, ceremonial specialists, craft specialisations and settlement data, cultural transmission processes, bead manufacturing practices, and watercraft and the acquisition of prized marine species. Jeanne E. Arnold teaches in the Department of Anthropology at UCLA.



Islands Apart: A Year on the Edge of Civilization


Author: Ken McAlpine


Description: Author Ken McAlpine stands in his front yard one night in Ventura, California, trying to see the stars. His view is diminished by light pollution, making it hard to see much of anything in the sky. Our fast-paced, technologically advanced society, he concludes, is not conducive to stargazing or soul-searching. Taking a page from Thoreau's Walden, he decides to get away from the clamor of everyday life, journeying alone through California's Channel Islands National Park. There, he imagines, he might be able to "breathe slowly and think clearly, to examine how we live and what we live for." What he discovers about himself and the world we live in will inspire anyone who wishes they had the time to slow down and notice the wonders of nature and humanity. Ken McAlpine is an award-winning travel writer whose work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Outside, Reader's Digest, and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of Off-Season: Discovering America on Winter's Shore. He lives with his family in Ventura, California.



Justinian Caire and Santa Cruz Island: The Rise and Fall of a California Dynasty


Author: Frederic Caire Chiles


Description: One of the fabled Channel Islands of Southern California, Santa Cruz was once the largest privately owned island off the coast of the continental United States. This multifaceted account traces the island’s history from its aboriginal Chumash population to its acquisition by The Nature Conservancy at the end of the twentieth century. The heart of the book, however, is a family saga: the story of French émigré Justinian Caire and his descendants, who owned and occupied the island for more than fifty years. The author, descended from Caire, uses family archives unavailable to earlier historians to recount the full, previously untold story. The author looks at the family’s daily life on the island from the mid-nineteenth into the twentieth century. This epic contains tragic elements, as well. Family diaries and letters enable Chiles to tell the story of an intensely private clan and its struggle to hold an island dynasty together.



The California Channel Islands


Author: Marla Daily (Santa Cruz Island Foundation)


Description: Every day, thousands of Southern California residents see the California Channel Islands on the horizon, yet few can name all eight. Santa Catalina Island, third largest, is by far the best known. It is the only island with a city, Avalon, where dozens of hotels, shops, and restaurants await visitors year-round. Three of the islands are owned by the US Navy: San Clemente, San Nicolas, and San Miguel. Five islands fall within the boundaries of Channel Islands National Park: San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara Islands. Close to the mainland and yet worlds apart, scenic day trips and primitive camping opportunities are available on all five park islands. Cultural anthropologist and author Marla Daily of the Santa Cruz Island Foundation has spent her career researching the histories of all eight islands. The California Historical Society bestowed upon Daily its Distinguished Service Award for her extraordinary service and dedicated efforts in preserving Channel Islands history.





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